Any Given Sunday

As you can tell, my last blog posts are completely false on a particular point. While I did get back to Niamey, the server that I hooked up to was not connected to the internet. The sub-oceanic cable that was cut some time ago is still affecting Nigerien internet, which is being redirected through other cables, slowing down or stopping up the whole operation. The pool along with the milkshake and chicken caesar salad found therein were still heavenly.
The past week and a half have sped by, filled with more adventure and progress towards our new lives in the field. The number of untold stories piles up while I continue to lack internet access. Our stage has meshed very well and personalities have emerged as comfort levels have risen. Getting sick brings people together, as does shared hardship in general. A week ago I began to feel little beasts scurry about my intestines with an intensity akin to that of liquid hot magma. With powerful meds. it still takes about a week to completely get rid of them - that is amoebas. At the same time I was able to find out more about our new set of volunteer trainers and got to stay in Hamdallaye for one wacky Sunday - our one completely open day of the week.
The rainy season brings Niger its only rain of the year. It’s a bit hard to imagine Niger having problems with desertification when the streets flood multiple times per week. While my hut is doing fine with its cemented albeit holey walls, the mud wall around my concession loses significant mass with each rainfall and this Sunday the liquid level in my latrine rose alarmingly high. When the straw door to my concession fell apart due to the rain, I was admittedly frustrated. Then, after another disappointing lunch I decided to head to the road and find some more nutrition. I was accosted by the college students chilling in their summer pad and was invited to a wedding of one of their brothers within five minutes. Seeking back up, I stopped by a friend nearby who I found out had just had her cement latrine collapse after the morning rain, cutting one of her legs with falling concrete as she managed to only get her toes wet. This only hours after a tree fell on her and her concession-mate’s beds shortly after sunrise. After chatting about that and her trip plans for the end of service, we went to the wedding pre-reception by the marketplace. We were offered food and met the bride off surrounded by her entourage in a house. The wedding was to take place at 4:00. Right around four o’clock a bunch of people left and said that they would be back soon. A handful stuck around while others came back in twenty minutes and said that the wedding was done and that the couple had already headed off to Niamey, where they will live. Confusing, no? Guess what, a Nigerien groom often doesn’t ‘propose’ until two weeks prior to the wedding date! We all should be invited to a number of weddings, naming ceremonies and such similar events, that cultural norms should clear up in our minds. Explaining them to someone who hasn’t attended all our cross-culturally themed sessions might still be kind of difficult.
In other news, late last week we received our site announcements and earlier this week we were able to meet our future supervisors. Next week we will all spend a week going through a ‘live-in’ acclimation in our respective sites. After that only two weeks of training will remain. Wow.
Next time I hope my news will be more up to date, and a full-scale introduction to my site should be in order.
-Thomas